Home / Mott MacDonald appointed on US$27 million Jamaican hydro expansion scheme

Release

10 May 2012

Mott MacDonald appointed on US$27 million Jamaican hydro expansion scheme

Mott MacDonald has been appointed as designer and technical advisor
by Kier Construction Ltd for a US$27 millionhydropower expansion
project located on the Black River near the town of Maggotty in
Jamaica. The expansion will double the 6.3MW power capacity of the
scheme.

The existing plant, which was constructed in the late 1950s, is
made up of a weir and intake, 2.2km of 1.8m diameter woodstave
pipeline, 100m of rock tunnel, a pipe bridge and surge tank, as
well as an existing powerhouse with one vertical axis Francis
turbine. The woodstave pipeline is in need of repair and
replacement and this project provides an opportunity to incorporate
the existing elements into an expanded scheme to add 6.3MW
capacity.

The project will include the construction of a new intake to double
the design flow, alteration of the existing weir, duelling of
existing pipelines, replacement of the woodstave pipeline with 2.6m
diameter glass-fibre reinforced polyester (GRP) pipe and a new
powerhouse housing two horizontal axis Francis turbines. Several
elements of the existing scheme will be re-used, including 220m of
concrete conduit, the rock tunnel and surge tank, subject to
condition assessments and detailed hydraulic modelling.

Mott MacDonald will design all scheme components including the new
intake, retaining walls, pipeline and powerhouse, with added
support during construction. The consultancy will also provide
detailed hydraulic analysis and flood risk assessment for the
expansion as well as technical advisory services for the electrical
and mechanical elements.

Sustainability has been a key consideration in the design, with the
re-use of existing scheme elements where possible and use of modern
materials such as GRP to reduce the embodied carbon
footprint.

Gavin McGill, Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “Jamaica is
highly dependent on oil imports to meet its energy requirements. It
is currently making efforts to reduce its reliance on these, with
hydropower presenting a clean and reliable alternative. The
existing Maggotty hydro scheme forms an important part of the
country’s generating capability and our off-line construction
design will aim to keep disruption to power generation to a minimum
during the construction period.”

“Mott MacDonald is pleased to be involved in developing this
project from basic design through to construction based on our
strong recent compact hydro experience,” Gavin added.

Construction is expected to start on the project late this year,
with work due to be completed by the end of 2013.